Why should you care about etiquette? Etiquette is the stuff
that Miss Manners talks about, putting silverware in the right
places on the table, saying Sir and Ma'am,
Please and Thank you. What does that have to do with a
game where you blow up the other guy's fleets and try to crush him
like the bug he is?
Well, etiquette is also the stuff you use in a casino, where
you don't look at the other guy's cards until you've paid to see them,
you tip the dealer, and you don't insult your opponents. If you can
pull off the basics, you look like you know what you are doing. You
gain respect. You look like a worldly-wise and savvy chap, and you
get invited back to the table so you can take all of their money next
time.
I never believed in any of this stuff when I was growing up. I was
probably thirteen before I decided that Please or Thank
you had a place in my vocabulary. After all, they seemed like
wasted, empty words. And then I went on a camping trip with the
father of my best friends at the time. He would say, "Andrew, could
you please grab the mallet for me?" I'd fetch it, and hand it to him.
He'd respond, "Thank you, Sir." And would you believe it? Any favor
he wanted, I was happy and proud to assist.
The fundamental social difficulty in Tyrannus is that you are trying
to win, which you can only do by making someone else unhappy. But
this is still just a game, and it's supposed to be fun, right? Try
to remember that when you read or compose messages. It's tough, but
worth all the effort. Especially when you meet someone for the
second time, can't afford a war, and want to trade, instead....
Please remember that werdna.com hosts players from all walks of life and
from all over the globe. Women and men, young and old. If you treat
them with respect, they will do the same for you. We provide the
messaging system as a medium for human contact, trade agreements,
military coordination, and the occasional friendly taunt.
For everyone's enjoyment, we would be most grateful if you could
refrain from offensive social behavior, especially strong language.
When you taunt your foes, choose your words carefully! Written media,
particularly electronic media, lends itself to misunderstanding-
anyone you talk to here can't see your face, so they don't know when
you are joking, when you are serious, or when you are mad. Likewise,
you can't tell how they are reacting to your messages.
If you think that someone is overreacting, ask. "Did I cross the line
there?" This person may be offended by things that you consider
innocuous. For example, there are really nasty words in American
English that are really quite harmless in British English, and the
other way around. Heck, that's probably true between neighboring
towns. And it's certainly true between kids and grandparents.
There's a flip side, too. If you see something that you find
offensive, try to keep perspective. Let the person know- "Andrew, I
really don't want to hear words like heck. Could maybe find
another way to express that thought in the future?" And if someone
asks you to tone it down, TONE IT DOWN. Yes, I know you may be upset,
but you can express your displeasure without resorting to abuse.
The words are just the beginning though. What the words say is
probably more important, but I bet you can figure out how to go about
it. I find the smiley-face a fine way to display my good intentions
when the words are an in-game taunt: "We shall now burst upon your
stinking planets in wave after wave of death, wiping the scourge of
your disgusting visage from the Whirlpool Galaxy forever! ;-)" Don't
assume that a smiley-face makes any message okay, though, because
there are limits to its powers.
I've seen good buddies lose friendships over sarcasm in e-mail, and
you can imagine how much more likely that is when you are talking to a
perfect stranger... which is exactly what you will probably be doing
when you talk to people at werdna.com.
Why should you care? Well, I for one would rather be known as "a solid player"
than as "that jerk." If the happiness of others is not compelling to
you, also know that etiquette is power. If they like you, they will
probably send their fleets elsewhere. You may not need that help
right now, but you might need it in the future.
Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, problems still develop. Every
time anyone gets a message, they can hit a link to complain about its
content. If someone does complain about a message, I'll look over
that message and the previous messages between the people involved,
and then try to resolve the problem. I'd really rather not have to do
that.
If you can, try to resolve the problem yourself. Often, a gently
worded request will suffice to convince another player to cut down on
abusive language. Who knows, maybe you can work out an agreement with
someone where you can both go at each other full force without having
to worry about this politeness junk because you both know that it's
all in good fun- that's okay, too, as long as everyone involved
agrees.
Keep in mind that there are over 20,000 toes associated with this web
site. Some of them are going to get stepped on. Chances are that
it's not intentional, or that the guy on the other end is just being
human. Cut him some slack, and crush his puny little empire.
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